Collaborating and communicating with blogs

Blogging for a purpose

Reading before writing

All my students write blogs. And all the student blogs are listed on my blog. You will find them to the right if you scroll down. I have used blogging with my students since I started blogging myself in 2008. The first year of blogging I had an average of 12 visits per day. My network benefits my students in that I can make connections for them. And the blogging benefits my students and me. In my ninth year of blogging, I can see that it has resulted in better writing by my students.

Sherman Alexie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last year they all did great at their exam. Apart from learning how to produce well-written articles and writing on a regular basis, the students get the chance to write for a wider audience. They get the chance to connect with students in other parts of the world and they get a chance to discuss interesting topics. This month we will be collaborating with schools in Canada and the USA on the topic “Native Americans”. If you have students who would like to participate please join us. We have been reading “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian“, by Sherman Alexie. We have also written articles about the US election if you have students who would like to help us understand what is going on there!

Student blogs on Sherman Alexie’s book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Fell free to click on any of these names and continue the conversation! The students promise to answer questions from other students.

Every time I plan my lessons I try to think about this

“To what extent are our students using technology as a constructive medium to do things that no students could do before, to do things at a level of complexity that was not previously accessible to them?And are our students inquiring deeply, researching broadly, connecting intensely, sharing widely, and creating powerfully?”

It is difficult to include all these points, but if we look at these questions each time we plan our lessons with our students I think we slowly move towards our goal of learning for all our students, one step at a time! If you have any comments or would like to collaborate on any of the topics I have covered this year, let me know by filling in this contact form.